Curtain-fixture.



B. C. HILL.

CURTAIN FIXTURE.

APPLxcATloN FILED SEPT. 3. 191s.

Patented Mar. 4,1919,

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BEULAH C. HILL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CURTAIN-FIXTURE.

Application led September 3, 1918.

To all wiz-0m I? may concern Be it known that I, BEULAH C. HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of illinois, have invented certain new and useful In'iprovements in Curtain-Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for holding curtains by means of top and bottom rods. More specifically it relates to an adjustable member for holding one end of one of the rods. i

The objects of my invention are chiefly to provide simple, low-cost and readily operable means for holding a curtain on the curtain rods so that the effective distance between the upper and lower rods may be varied, whereby curtains of dilferent lengths may be placed upon the rods and maintained in the desired taut or stretched condition, and, importantly, whereby the curtain may be so maintained, although there be material shrinkage thereof, due to washing, and, further, whereby, after washing such curtain, it may beput upon the rods while wet and the rods then separated until the fabric is drawn taut, thus substantially ironing the washed curtain without the great difliculty incident to stretching vthe same onV some auxiliary device. As to the specific construction, it is a prime object to provide a form of device of simple construction, of few parts, and one which may be readily installed; and, further, a form of device which may be used on either side of the window frame, thus avoiding the difliculty incident to the application of rights 'and lefts, as where the devices are used in pairs. Further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

It is common practice to secure window curtains by means of a rod passing through a hem or turned-overportion at both the top and bottom of the curtain. Numerous advantages exist in such an arrangement over the method of suspendingl the curtain from a single rod at the top. Heretofore, however, such difficulties as maintaining the curtain taut under the various conditions Lof service and diiiiculties of installation, removal, etc., have limited the eifectiveness and practicability of the two-rod system. These difiiculties are overcome by the present improvements, and numerous advantages due to the particular form of construction illustrated are also obtained.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rammed nar. e', 191e. serial No. 252,299.

ln the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, I have illustrated two forms of the adjustable rod support, each of which is a preferred form in the use to which it is particularly adapted. In these drawings F igure l is a face view of a window frame, showing a twopart curtain and the curtain rodsheld by theJ devices of Figs. 2 and 6, the holding 'elements being enlarged proportionately and the curtain being shown as mere strips of fabric, for clearness of illustration; Fig. 2 is a face view of the xture applicable to lthe inner sides of a window frame, as in Fig. l, together with a fragment of the frame; Fig. 3 is an edge view of the device of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a face view of a form of the device for application to the window frame or sash surfaces which are substantially parallel with the window; Fig. 5 is an edge View of the device of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a perspective of the lower lrod-retaining member of Fig. 1.

Referring' to Fig. E2, the structure consists of a strip of metal 10, suitably of iron or brass, stamped up to "provide theprojec'ting'middle portion 11, which is notched at 12 to receive the'end of the upper curtain rod 13. The device is thus provided with two legsA and B, extending from the central portion 11, and each of these legs is provided with a longitudinal slot 14 of a width suflicientto receive loosely the shank of a holding screw, and a plurality of screwreceiving slots or branchesl extending on each side of slot 14 and turned normally up- `ward atthei'r ends respectively, when this member'lO-is used for holding' the' top rod. The provision of such lateral slots or branches- 15'on both sides of the central slot 14 makes the device available for use on either side of the window frame. As shown in Fig. 2, the screws 16 and-17, which may be ordinary wood-screws of commerce, preferably round-headed, are screwed into the wood frame, the two beingpreferably in a substantially vertical line, and are spaced apart the distance between corresponding grooves or branches 15 in the upper and lower legs of the structure 10. The construction and arrangement are such that the structure 10 may be moved up and down with the screws 16 and 17 in the longitudinal slots 14, and becomes looked against downward Vmovement'when the structure 10 is moved laterally so that the screws 16 and 17 will each be engaged by one of the grooves or branches 15 in the upper and lower legs, vA and B. The structure 10 may therefore, by a simple movement of the hand, be moved out of one of its locked positions and into another thereof, higher or lower, thus varying the distance between the upper and lower rods. The screws 16 and 17 are not turned into the frame so tightly as to bind upon the device 10,but only Vso closely there- Vto as to maintain the device 10 substantially close to the window frame, while permitting its movement for adjustment in the manner indicated. Y l

Referring to Fig. 4, the device 20 is similarlyV provided with two legs A and B, each having a longitudinal slot 21, and, on one side of this slot, a plurality of branches or recesses 22, each terminating in an enlarged recess 23, one portion of the enlargement extending upwardly and .the other potion downwardly with reference to the recess 22. This construction admits of the same device being used on either side of fthe window frame, making it at once a right and a left by merely turning it upside down. The screws 16 and 17 are spaced 'apart theV distance between corresponding branches or recesses 22 in the two legs A and B, and the operation of shifting the structure to make adjustments is as already described for Fig. 2.

Intermediate of the two legs A and B, a rod-supporting extension 25 is turned substantially at right angles to the base parts A `and B and then turned over at 26 and then back toward the base A and B as at 27, the part 27 constituting a. stop for the end of the upper rod 13. The parts 25 and 26 are slotted as at 28 to receive the end of the rod 13, and the slot in the part 25 is cut out to form an enlarged recess 29, one part of the enlargement extending downward and the other part upward with reference to the slot 28, the enlargement 29 thus providing a firm seat for the rod 13 when the device is used on either side of the window frame. Y

The lower rod 30 will ordinarily be held by a fixed and non-adjustable holding device as 32, secured, as by screws, upon the window frame. It is usually desirable to have the lower end of the curtain maintained close Ito the lower horizontal part of the window frame.

It is diflicult to make curtains from the materials usually employed of such exact length as to fit tightly between two fixed rods. With the present device, the curtain can be drawn and maintained Itaut regard- Copies of this patent may be obtained for less of the variations in length ordinarily found to exist. Furthermore, when these curtains are washed they usually shrink quite considerably, which shrinkage can be readily overcome, in effect, by the simple adjustment of the upper rod-holding members 10 or 20, as the case may be. I have found, too, that a notable advantage can be secured by putting the curtains back on the rods in their wet condition after being washed, and, by means of the adjustable feature described, drawing -them taut and leaving them to dry in that condition, thus avoiding much additional and laborious work.

By this construction, too, the curtain may be readily removed and replaced as desired.

The device can be formed by stamping Y processes well understood.

I claim:

1. A curtain fixture Comprising a relatively long and narrow plate-like base having intermediate its ends Va support for a curtain rod, said support being carried by said base, each end portion of the base having a longitudinal slot therein provided with a plurality of branches extending -laterally therefrom, each of said slots and the branches thereof being respectively adapted to accommodate a screw-like .holding element, substantially as described.

2. A curtain rod support comprising a base and a rod-supporting elementV carried thereby, said -rod-supporting element having an opening on' one side thereof to Vaccommodate a curtain rod and being closed Y on the opposite side thereof to prevent said rod from projecting through said support, said base having a main longitudinal slot and branching slots extending therefrom on one side thereof, each branch slot terminating in an enlarged opening having a part thereof extending beyond saidbranchslot in each of the general directions of said main slot to form a seat for a screw-like holding element when the device is applied with either end up, substantially as described. Y Y

3. A curtain fix-ture comprising a relatively long and narrow base adapted to rest vertically against a window frame part, an outwardly projecting support for the end ofa horizontally disposed curtain rod carried by said base, said basev having a main longitudinal slot normally vertically disposed and a plurality of lateral branchv ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

